Waking up in a new place when you came in during the night can be quite exciting, but I wasn't ready for what was outside. At some point during the night, the fog rolled in thicker than I've ever seen it in Colorado frosting everything in its path. I didn't quite get up for sunrise, but there was still some lovely color in the sky. Unfortunately, the fog didn't stick around for long, but I did find a beautifully tranquil pond nearby.
The first stop on my day was to Four Corners. I knew it was going to be a touristy place, so I wanted to get there early. I'd never been in four states at once, so that was pretty fun. Afterward, I didn't have a plan; I just wanted to be in Monument Valley for golden hour. So what I ended up doing was driving around as many back roads as I could to see as much of the area as possible. I was fortunate because the storm that passed through the day before left some fantastic clouds hanging in the area. I got a great view of Ship Rock and eventually ended up near the Navajo National Monument, so I decided to have a look.
After passing through the monument and exploring, I found an old dirt road that headed west in a way that I could burn some afternoon sun while I was waiting for sunset and explore some new territory. The road was made of this soft red sand that made me think or Australia or something. In certain places, the sand got soft enough that I was getting a little worried about getting stuck, but my small truck did ok. There was absolutely no one out there. As I was wandering around, I came across a fascinating site; It was a long dried up waterfall and river.
As the day passed by, I slowly made my way up to Monument Valley. There ended up being more traffic in the are than I would have preferred because I wanted to drive slowly and look around, but I would be mindful and allow people to pass. At one point I got out and started to explore some of the erosion marks in the area. I eventually made my way to the famous section of road that gave you the iconic view of the Mesas. I decided to stay here for sunset and watched as different people came through taking pictures. At one point a couple of skateboarders came by, and I got an incredible shot of them going down the road.
I stayed until sunset and watched the sky change colors as the temperature dropped surprising low. My day in the south-west was completed, and I needed to head back, but I had one more night before I left. I had a two hour drive ahead of me and I was getting pretty tired. I was really happy with how the day turned out and I began to start learning the lesson of going with the flow.
Photography Date: 4-29-17
Writing Date: 3-19-18
